Stoned in Portugal

New synthetic drugs, touted as ‘legal highs,’ said entering Europe at unprecedented pace

This just in: people like relief. -UA

Canadian Press 5/12

LISBON, Portugal — The European drug monitoring centre and the continent’s criminal intelligence agency say new synthetic drugs advertised as “legal highs” are becoming available at an unprecedented pace, often over the Internet.

The institutions say they detected 41 new psychoactive substances for sale in 2010, up from 24 the previous year.

Europol and the Lisbon-based European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction said in a joint report published Wednesday that all but one of the new drugs identified last year were synthetic.

The centre said it monitors online shops selling the substances and European countries are taking steps to outlaw them.

Europol director Rob Wainwright said “the emergence of ‘legal highs’ is a major feature of Europe’s drug problem today.”

1 COMMENT

K2 used to be popular along with other synthetic drugs here in the US until the lawmakers stepped in and made them illegal. If you get caught with K2 or any other synthetic drugs now, it’s like being caught with heroine or cocaine. The illegal pin fell upon the synthetic drugs when kids started overdosing on them.